Container closure and method of assembly

ABSTRACT

A container closure includes a base with a valve mount portion formed from a first thermoplastic material and a valve formed from a second thermoplastic material. The valve is bonded to the valve mount portion. A lid is hingeably attached to the base and includes a sealing rim extending from a surface of the lid and designed to engage the valve at the location where the valve seals to the valve mount portion. The engagement of the sealing rim with the valve forming a seal between the two components.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part application of applicationSer. No. 10/888,162, filed Jul. 8, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,763which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to containers used to dispense fluidsand other substances, such as foodstuffs (for example, ketchup) orcosmetics. More particularly, the invention relates to a closure for asqueeze-type container wherein contents can be discharged from thecontainer through a self-closing valve.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many different configurations of self-sealing valves for use withsqueeze-type containers are known in the prior art. U.S. Pat. No.6,230,940 (Manning et al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,504 (Socier) bothdisclose a self-sealing valve mechanically retained in a closure. U.S.Pat. No. 5,927,566 (Mueller) discloses a self-sealing valve bonded by amolding process to a closure. U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,443 (Hins) discloses avalve bonded to a base, the valve/base combination in turn beingretained against a container neck by a fastening element. U.S. Pat. No.6,152,324 (Baudin) discloses a valve bonded directly to a container.U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,006 (Drobish et al.) discloses several embodimentsof a self-sealing valve mechanically retained by a closure against abottle neck. In each of these inventions, the valve or the combinationof the valve and the component to which it is attached for subsequentengagement with a container must be designed for a specific containerconfiguration.

It is an object of the invention to provide a self-sealing valve andadapter assembly which is inexpensively manufactured and is readilyadaptable for use with containers having a wide variety ofconfigurations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In a first aspect, the invention is a closure for use with a containerhaving a container neck. The closure includes a base with a top thathave a skirt depending from a peripheral edge of the top. The base has avalve mount portion formed on the base top. The valve mount portionincludes an attachment surface. The base is made from a firstthermoplastic material. A valve made from a second thermoplasticmaterial includes a flexible central portion with at least one valveopening. The valve also includes an outer peripheral portion that ismolded onto the attachment surface of the valve mount portion. A lid ishingedly attached to the base and rotates between an open position and aclosed position. The lid has an inner surface. A sealing rim is locatedon the lid and extends downward from the inside surface when the lid isin its closed position. The sealing rim includes a lower tip which ispositioned so as to contact the outer peripheral portion of the valve.The contact between the tip and the outer peripheral portion forms asubstantial seal between the sealing rim and the outer peripheralportion.

In one embodiment of the invention, the valve mount portion is anadapter formed from a first thermoplastic material and includes ahousing with a passage extending through the adapter. The adapterincludes a first end and a second end. At least one adapter connector isformed on the adapter at or near the first end. The valve attachmentsurface is formed on the adapter at or near the second end. The adapterconnector is engaged with a base connector on the base.

In one configuration of the invention, the lid includes a protrusionpositioned on the inner surface of the lid and located to as to bepositioned adjacent to the central portion of the valve when the lid isin its closed position. The protrusion is designed to inhibit the valvefrom opening when the lid is in the closed position.

In one embodiment of the invention, the sealing rim is substantiallycylindrical in shape and sized to locally compress the outer peripheralportion of the valve when the lid is in its closed position.

The basic aspects of the present invention may be combined in a numberof forms. The preferred aspects of the various constructions may be usedin conjunction with one another or used alone. The various featuresprovide certain advantages over the prior art. These advantages will bedescribed herein and will be understood by those skilled in the art uponreviewing the description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there are shown in thedrawings forms of the invention which are presently preferred; it beingunderstood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precisearrangements and instrumentalities shown. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of theclosure of the present invention shown removed from a container andshowing a lid of the closure in an open position.

FIG. 2 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the closure of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is cross-sectional view of the closure of FIGS. 1 and 2, showingthe lid in a closed position.

FIG. 3A is an enlarged view of a portion of the closure of FIGS. 1-3,showing connections between first embodiments of a valve, an adapter anda base.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3A, showing connections between secondembodiments of the valve, adapter and base.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3A, showing connections between thirdembodiments of the valve, adapter and base.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 3A, showing connections between fourthembodiments of the valve, adapter and base.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 3A, showing connections between fifthembodiments of the valve, adapter and base.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the closureof FIG. 1 including a novel cap for assisting in sealing the valve.

FIG. 8A is an enlarged detail of a portion of the closure of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

As used herein, the term “multi-material molding” means any conventionalmolding process in which two or more materials are injectedsimultaneously or in sequence into a single mold during a single moldingcycle. Multi-material molding is intended to include co-injectionmolding, bi-injection molding, two-shot molding and insert moldingtechniques well known to those of ordinary skill in the art of injectionmolding.

Referring to the drawings, and initially to FIGS. 1-3A, a closure for acontainer is indicated generally by the reference numeral 20. Theclosure 20 is adapted for use with a conventional container 10. Thecontainer 10 comprises a container neck 12, defining a container opening14. The container neck 12 may be provided with an external helicalthread 16 for threaded engagement with the closure 20. Alternatively,the container 10 and closure 20 may be connectable with inter-engagingsnap elements (e.g., raised beads and recesses) (not shown). Also, theclosure 20 could be permanently affixed to the container neck 12 by anynumber of conventional techniques including induction melting,ultrasonic melting or use of adhesive.

The container 10 is preferably squeezable with at least one flexiblewall capable of being manually deformed to compress the contents thereinand increase the pressure within the container to force the contents outof the container.

The closure 20 is an assembly of a base 30, an adapter 60 and a valve80. In a first preferred embodiment, the base 30 includes a top 32having an outer periphery. An opening 34 is formed in the top 32, theopening 34 being surrounded by a lip 36. As discussed further below, inthis embodiment, the lip 36 is sized and shaped to be engaged by anadapter connector 70, and thus the lip 36 serves as a base connector 38.A base skirt 40 depends from the outer periphery, generallyperpendicular to the top 32. A base helical internal thread 42 may beprovided on an interior surface of the base skirt 40, allowing the base30 to be connected to the container neck 12 by threaded engagement ofthe internal thread 42 with the external thread 16. While threads areshown in the figures, those skilled in the art would readily appreciatethat many other conventional attachments may be used for a engaging thebase with the container neck.

The base 30 further preferably includes a lid 44 hingedly attached tothe base 30 by a hinge 46. The hinge permits that lid 44 to rotate orpivot between an open position 44 a and a closed position 44 b. The lid44 includes a lid top 48 having a periphery, and a lid skirt 50extending from the lid top 48. Preferably, the lid 44 includes aprotrusion 52 on an interior side of the top 48 of the lid. Theprotrusion 52 is preferably sized, shaped and positioned to prevent avalve aperture 86 from opening when the lid 44 is in the closed position44 b.

The base 30, including the lid 44, is preferably fabricated usingconventional thermoplastic materials such as polyolefins, includingpolypropylene, and using conventional fabrication techniques, such asinjection molding, well known to those of ordinary skill in the art ofbottle closures.

The adapter 60 is formed from a first thermoplastic material, preferablya polyolefin material such as polypropylene. The adapter 60 includes ashell or housing 62, which is preferably cylindrical in shape and whichdefines a passage 64 through the adapter. The adapter 60 has a first end66 and a second end 68. At least one adapter connector 70 is providedproximate the first end 66. In a first preferred embodiment, the adapterconnector 70 is a hook element that engages and latches with the baseconnector 38 to connect the adapter 60 to the base 30. The adapter 60further includes a valve attachment surface 72. It is along this surface72 that the valve 80 is connected to the adapter 60. As should bereadily apparent in view of this disclosure, numerous variations arepossible for forming the inter-engaging base and adapter connectors 38,70, as well as the valve attachment surface 72.

The valve 80 is formed from a second thermoplastic material, preferablya thermoplastic elastomer. The valve 80 has a resiliently flexiblecentral portion 82 provided with at least one opening 84 forming anaperture 86. The aperture 86 has a closed position 86 a and an openposition 86 b. The resiliency of the flexible central portion 82 biasesthe aperture 86 into the closed position 86 a. Upon application of apredetermined pressure to the central portion 82 near the aperture 86,the central portion 82 flexes from a retracted position 82 a into anextended position 82 b, such that the aperture 86 moves to the openposition 86 b. When the pressure applied to the central portion 82decreases below the predetermined level, the resilient nature of theaperture 86 biases it back to the closed position 86 a. Preferably, atleast the central portion 82 of the valve 80 has a substantially uniformwall thickness.

The valve 80 includes an outer peripheral portion 88. The valve outerperipheral portion 88 is molded to the adapter 60 at the attachmentsurface 72 thereby bonding the valve 80 to the adapter 60 to form anadapter and valve assembly. A pleated portion 90, forming a bellows-likefold, may be provided to allow increased flexure of the central portion82. The pleated portion 90 acts to bias the central portion 82 into theretracted position 82 a.

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate a presently preferred embodiment wherein the baseopening 34 is formed in the top 32. Alternatively, the base opening 34(and the base connector 38) could be positioned elsewhere on the base30, for example on a side portion of the base 30.

In one preferred embodiment, the adapter and valve assembly of theclosure 20 are formed by a multi-material molding process. In summary,this process entails sequentially injecting first and secondthermoplastic materials into a single mold such that the adapter 60 isformed from the first thermoplastic material, the valve 80 is formedfrom the second thermoplastic material and a physical bond between theadapter 60 and valve 80 is formed during the molding process,eliminating the need for any subsequent assembly using adhesive or othertypes of fasteners to join the adapter 60 to the valve 80. It has beenfound to be advantageous to form valve 80 using a so-called“center-gated” molding technique, whereby the valve 80 material isinjected into the mold through a port which is centrally andsymmetrically positioned relative to the valve body. Using thiscenter-gated approach, it is found that non-symmetric residual stressesthat might otherwise occur are eliminated or minimized, thus enhancingperformance of the valve 80.

After the adapter and valve assembly are integrally formed, the assemblyis connected to the base to form the closure 20. As discussed above, theconnection is made by engagement of the adapter connector 70 with thebase connector 38. As discussed below, numerous embodiments of theadapter connector and base connector are possible. Preferably theconnection is one that is performed in a manner that prevents subsequentdisconnection. Also, it is preferred that the connection be a snapconnection wherein the assembly is snapped downward on, onto or intoengagement with the base, thus forming the complete closure.

After the closure is formed, it is connected to the container neck, forexample, by screwing the closure 20 onto the container neck 12 (forcontainers 10 having a conventional threaded design), snapping theclosure 20 onto the container neck 12 (for containers having aconventional snap-on design), or by permanently affixing the closure 20to the container neck 12.

Upon assembly of the closure 20 to the container 10, the adapter 60 doesnot interface directly with the container neck 12. That is, the valveand adapter assembly, when incorporated into the closure 20 andinstalled on the container 10, is separated from the container 10 by thebase 30. In this manner, as the valve and adapter assembly does notdirectly connect or otherwise directly interface with the container, thedesign of the valve and adapter assembly is generally independent of thedesign of the container, and a single valve and adapter assembly designmay be adapted for use with different types of containers.

In use, the lid 44 is placed in the open position 44 a and the container10 is squeezed, pressurizing and forcing contents of the container 10against an interior side of the valve central portion 82. When thepressure within the container exceeds the predetermined level necessaryto open the aperture 86, contents of the container 10 are dispensed.When the pressure within the container 10 falls below the predeterminedlevel, the aperture 86 moves back to the closed position 86 a. Afteruse, the lid 44 is rotated back into the closed position 44 b. Asdiscussed above, the lid preferably includes a lid protrusion 52 formedon the lid that moves with the remainder of the lid 44, into a positionadjacent to the aperture 86. The lid protrusion 52 blocks the aperture86 so as to prevent or inhibit the valve central portion 82 from flexingand/or rotating open. Thus, the lid protrusion 52 operates to preventdischarge of the container contents should the container 10 be squeezedwhen the lid 44 is in the closed position 44 b.

From this disclosure, those skilled in the art will recognize that it ispossible to omit the base 30 from the closure 20, and design a container10 having a neck 12 provided with a connector corresponding to the baseconnector 38, adapted to engage the adapter connector 70, thus allowingthe valve and adapter assembly to be mounted directly to the container10.

With reference now to FIGS. 4-7, second through fifth embodiments of thebase 30, adapter 60 and valve 80 illustrate that connections between thebase 30 and adapter 60 and between the adapter 60 and valve 80 can bemade in various ways. In FIGS. 4-7, elements of the second through fifthembodiments corresponding to like elements of the first embodiment arenumbered in increments of 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500, respectively,above the reference number of the corresponding first embodimentelement.

A second embodiment base 130, adapter 160 and valve 180 are illustratedin FIG. 4. The adapter connector 170 is in the form of a pin, having ahook-like portion adapted to engage the base connector 138. The baseconnector 138 is in the form of an opening in the base 130, and is sizedand shaped to receive and engage the adapter connector 170. Furthermore,the peripheral portion 188 of the valve 180 is bifurcated and engagesthe valve attachment surface 172 along multiple planes.

A third embodiment base 230, adapter 260 and valve 280 are illustratedin FIG. 5. The adapter connector 270 is in the form of a raised bead,adapted to engage the base connector 238, in the form of a recess in thebase 230, sized and shaped to receive and engage the adapter connector270. Furthermore, the peripheral portion 288 of the valve 280 engagesthe valve attachment surface 272 along an exterior portion of theadapter 260.

A fourth embodiment base 330, adapter 360 and valve 380 are illustratedin FIG. 6. The adapter connector 370 is in the form of a shaft having anouter extent with a first dimension, adapted to engage the baseconnector 338, in the form of a recess in the base 330, the recesshaving an inner bore with a second dimension such that an interferencefit occurs when the adapter connector 370 is inserted into the baseconnector 338. Furthermore, the peripheral portion 388 of the valve 380forms a channel-like structure which engages the valve attachmentsurface 372 of the adapter 360 in an interlocking fashion.

A fifth embodiment base 430, adapter 460 and valve 480 are illustratedin FIG. 7. The adapter connector 470 has a plurality of corrugated ortooth-like structures which are adapted to engage similar corrugatedstructures on the base connector 438. Furthermore, the peripheralportion 488 of the valve 480 is adapted to be received within a slotforming the valve attachment surface 472 of the adapter 460.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a cross-sectional view of a portion of thebottle closure is shown with a novel lid design. As discussed above, thelid 44 preferably includes a protrusion 52 which is designed to lieadjacent to or against the valve in the closed position so as to preventinadvertent opening or flexure of the valve central portion 82. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 8, the lid 44 includes not only theprotrusion 52, which in this embodiment is preferably one or more spacedapart ribs 200, but also a sealing rim 210 that extends from the lowersurface of the lid 44 and is positioned to engage the valve outerperipheral portion 88 at the point where it mounted to the attachmentsurface 72 of the adapter 60.

The sealing rim is designed to provide a physical engagement or sealbetween the lid 44 and the valve, thus preventing material from passingto or from the valve are inside the lid. More particularly, as shown inFIGS. 8 and 8A, the sealing rim 210 extends down from the lower orinside surface of the lid 44 and has a length of sufficient dimension tocontact, and more preferably, press into the sealing outer peripheralportion 88 of the valve. As shown in FIG. 8A, the sealing rim 210locally compresses the elastic valve material, thus creating a tightseal. The sealing rim 210 may include a tip end designed to facilitate atight seal, such as a pointed tip as shown.

The sealing rim 210 may be completely cylindrical so as to completelyseal the outer peripheral portion 88. Alternately, the sealing rim 210my constitute a series of spaced apart rim portions to contact the outerperipheral portion at spaced apart areas. The rim portion may be formedas a substantially rigid member as shown in the figures, or may bedesigned to flex to some degree to accommodate manufacturing tolerances.

While the figures illustrate a sealing rim 210 in combination with theprotrusion 52, it should be readily apparent that the lid need notinclude both. For example, since the sealing rim 210 is designed toprovide sealing around the valve, it may be desirable to not include aprotrusion in the lid.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and,accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, ratherthan to the foregoing specification, as indicating the scope of theinvention.

Although distinct embodiments have been described, those skilled in theart will understand how features from different embodiments may becombined.

Furthermore, while the invention has been described and illustrated withrespect to the exemplary embodiments thereof, it should be understood bythose skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes,omissions and additions may be made therein and thereto, without partingfrom the spirit and scope of the present invention.

1. A closure for a container having a container neck, the closurecomprising: a base having a top with a periphery from which a skirtdepends, the base having a valve mount portion formed on the top of thebase, the valve mount portion including an attachment surface, the basebeing made from a first thermoplastic material; a valve made from asecond thermoplastic material, the valve having a flexible centralportion with at least one valve opening and an outer peripheral portionmolded onto the attachment surface, the flexible central portion movablebetween opened and closed valve positions in which the valve opening isrespectively opened and closed; and a lid hingedly attached to the basefor rotation between an open lid position and a closed lid position, thelid having an inner surface and a protrusion positioned on the insidesurface of the lid so as to be located adjacent to the central portionof the valve when the lid is in the closed lid position to inhibitmovement of the valve to the opened valve position, the lid including asealing rim having a lower tip and formed on the lid to extenddownwardly from the inner surface when the lid is in its closedposition, the sealing rim spaced outwardly from the protrusion forcontact between the lower tip and the outer peripheral portion of thevalve, the contact between the lower tip and the outer peripheralportion forming a substantial seal therebetween.
 2. The closure of claim1, wherein the valve mount portion is an adapter formed from the firstthermoplastic material and defining a housing with a passage extendingthrough the adapter, the adapter including a first end and a second end,at least one adapter connector on the adapter at or near the first end,and wherein the valve attachment surface is formed on the adapter at ornear the second end, and wherein the adapter connector is engaged with abase connector on the base.
 3. The closure of claim 2, wherein theadapter connector includes a hook portion which engages the baseconnector.
 4. The closure of claim 2, wherein the adapter connector issnapped into engagement with the base connector.
 5. The closure of claim1, the container neck having an external thread, the base skirt furtherincluding an internal thread, wherein the closure connects to thecontainer neck by engagement of the external and internal threads. 6.The closure of claim 1, wherein the closure is permanently affixed tothe container neck.
 7. The closure of claim 1, wherein the firstthermoplastic material is a polyolefin and the second thermoplasticmaterial is a thermoplastic elastomer.
 8. The closure of claim 7,wherein the polyolefin is polypropylene.
 9. The closure of claim 1,wherein the sealing rim is substantially cylindrical in shape and sizedto locally compress the outer peripheral portion of the valve when thelid is in its closed position.
 10. A closure assembly for a containercomprising: a base adapted for attachment to a neck of a container; avalve mount member having opposite first and second ends and defining apassage extending through the valve mount member between the first andsecond ends, the valve mount member secured within an opening of thebase; a valve located adjacent the second end of the valve mount membersuch that the valve covers the passage of the valve mount member, thevalve including a flexible inner portion defining a valve opening and anouter peripheral portion attached to the valve mount member, theflexible inner portion movable between opened and closed valve positionsin which the valve opening is respectively opened and closed; a lidhingedly attached to the base for rotation between an open lid positionand a closed lid position; a valve-stopping protrusion located on aninner surface of the lid adjacent the flexible inner portion of thevalve when the lid is in the closed lid position to inhibit movement ofthe valve to the opened valve position; and a seal rim located on theinner surface of the lid and spaced outwardly from the valve-stoppingprotrusion for contact between the seal rim and the outer peripheralportion of the valve to form a substantial seal therebetween.
 11. Theclosure assembly of claim 10, wherein the valve defines at least onepleat to facilitate movement of the flexible inner portion between theclosed and opened valve positions.